Lost Momentum
by Andromeda Khun
Summary: The doom of mankind approaches. Vishnu nears, and humanity must find a way to halt it.


**House/Team: Eagles**

**Class Subject: Care of Magical Creatures**

**Category: Standard**

**Prompt: Spell: Arresto Momentum**

**Word Count: 1215**

Lost Momentum

Liam gazed at the slowly enlarging speck in the sky. _Only twenty more minutes_, he thought grimly. _I always thought that civilization would end more dramatically. _Life on Earth had lasted for three billion years. It was amazing that something this fragile had survived.

He cursed. Just as humans were ready to reach for the stars, the comet Vishnu had come.

It was a good day for the world to end. The air was cool, and a soft breeze whispered through the tall grass. As he watched the comet hurtle nearer, Liam remembered that fateful day, when he had first noticed it.

It had been about a month ago. In those early days at the Edinburgh Royal Observatory, his fellow scientists hadn't cared that Liam was finding and determining comet's orbits. That attitude certainly changed when Liam calculated that in a month, a comet's projected path would hit a very important planet-Earth. That day, Liam named their doom Vishnu, the destroyer of worlds.

Of course, his team of scientists checked, double-checked and triple-checked his calculations. Each time, they found the same answer: unless a miracle occurred, Vishnu would strike the Earth in a month's time. No known technology in 1999 could disrupt the comet's path.

So Liam tried to find a miracle. Against the advice of his fellow scientists, he released the information the English government. And, the English government reacted exactly as expected: they panicked and released the information to the public. After the mysterious events of the past months- natural disasters, strange murders, and widespread depression, the comet was the last straw. Mass hysteria ensued.

Liam had hoped and prayed that, with the spread of the news about Vishnu, somebody, whether it be a government or corporation, had an idea to stop it.

His hopes were in vain. Releasing the news had only caused a widespread evacuation of the explosion area, which happened to be England. Specifically, Vishnu would hit an uninhabited part of Scotland. However, Liam knew that no place on Earth would be safe. Once the comet slammed onto the ground, it would launch enough dust and soot into the atmosphere to cause drastic global cooling. _And that, _Liam thought, _will be the end. _Only starvation and death would follow.

That was the reason Liam waited on ground zero, beneath the doom he couldn't prevent. At least his end would be fast. _Ten more minutes._

A faint pop interrupted his thoughts, and Liam's head snapped up. _It can't be the comet already… _In the faint moonlight, two people were staring at the comet, holding poles-no, _brooms?_

A young man's voice pierced the meadow's tranquility. "I think this is the place, Kingsley."

Another voice, this one slow and deep, answered, "It has to be the exact place for it to work most effectively."

Slowly, amidst feelings of resignation and hopelessness, Liam began to feel acute perplexion. _This situation isn't making sense… _

He quickly stood and shouted, "What are you doing here? You need to get as far away as possible!" _For all the good it will do, _he thought wryly.

The young man squinted at Liam, then pulled out a stick and whispered a word. To add to Liam's growing confusion, the end of the stick began glowing. Above them, Vishnu twinkled in the sky.

The other person, Kingsley, ignored Liam and said, "We need to move, Harry. Obliviate him, and then we can do our job." _Obliviate? Is that some new slang?_

The young man, Harry, pointed the stick at Liam, then paused. "I've seen this man on the news before. I think he's the one who discovered the comet."

Liam cleared his throat. "If you're here to ask about the comet, you can just wait a few more minutes, and you'll see it firsthand."

Almost instantly, Kingsley drew a stick as one would draw a gun. Liam carefully backed away and sighed. "Look, I don't know who you are, but just let me-"

"We need your help, and we came to stop the comet."

Slowly, Liam started chuckling. "Stop Vishnu? It moves at 50 kilometers per second and had a mass of about 900,000 metric tons. You might as well try to stop the Earth from turning. Some things are just impossible…"

As he glanced at the people in front of him, his mouth dropped open. His mind tried to analyze it, but he couldn't. In front of him, in direct opposition to everything he'd ever believed, _there was a man floating on a broomstick. _

"So," Harry said, "as you can see, we have very different abilities than you, and we think we can stop Vishnu. Just tell us where exactly it will land in this field."

Liam walked to the floating broomstick and touched it, "Well, I don't think you'll be able to do it, but I'll tell you. Just tell me _what the heck is happening_!"

Harry glanced at Kingsley, who nodded. The stars, and the ever-growing comet twinkled overhead as Harry paused. Then he spoke ten words that changed Liam's life, "We are magical, and we're here to save the world."

Liam froze, then looked intently at these strange men "Then you are my miracle that I prayed for…" He swallowed, then spoke, "Do you see that tall yew tree way over there? That is approximately where the center of Vishnu will land."

With a faint crack, the two men _disappeared. _

Above, Vishnu was now as big as the moon. _Five more minutes._

Wordlessly, Liam watched the faraway yew tree-and three minutes later, a large crowd of people appeared, all floating on broomsticks and dressed in large robes.

As Liam gazed at the night sky, the comet no longer twinkled, but appeared to be covered in a blazing fire. Vishnu soon outshone the other stars, and continued to streak towards the peaceful meadow. Soon the comet almost seemed like a fiery roof above them. _One more minute, _Liam thought, his hands clammy. If the magical people were going to perform their miracle this was the time-

The sounds of evening quieted, and Liam's breath caught in his throat. As one, the figures on brooms raised something in the air… "_**ARRESTO MOMENTO!**_"

The words almost seemed to echo and reverberate in the still air. Liam translated it easily: bring momentum to a stop. Every person on a broomstick had a stick raised, yet the comet continued to surge forward. Then, miraculously, unbelievably it _stopped. _

The doom of mankind had _stopped. _

Liam stood there, simply staring at a true miracle, the miracle he had prayed for. Humanity now had time to travel to the stars. And… if he could convince these people to help them, these _magical_ people who could somehow break the laws of physics…

Just as his thoughts were gaining speed, a stick was pressed to his forehead. A voice whispered, "Obliviate."

And the possible future ended, leaving Liam and humankind trapped on Earth, albeit an Earth whose life had not yet lost its momentum.


End file.
